


curtain call

by nishikiyama



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: (because it's a play), Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Identity Issues, bede (once again) wont say hes in love even if opal can smell it a mile away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22084972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishikiyama/pseuds/nishikiyama
Summary: The fairies had ‘spoken’ to Opal. They desired Gloria as their female lead. Amongst the many applicants, numbers well into double-digits, the trainer had caught Opal’s eye. She simply had a ‘knack’ for the role, and no further explanation was offered.That, or these apparent ‘fairies’ knew of a crush Bede had long harboured for her in silence. Certainly, Opal could not have picked up on it, right? Even if he looked away from his mentor when questioned, or how he would spend just that extra ten minutes sprucing his appearance up in the mirror prior to meeting with Gloria…It just so happened the two of them were the only gloves that fit the hand of Ballonlea’s annual production of Sleeping Beauty.Bede knew that, to become a gym leader, he would have to face many trials and tribulations. Infatuations and script-writing were two he certainly did not expect.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 6
Kudos: 109





	curtain call

**Author's Note:**

> mild spoilers for bede and his relationship with macro cosmos lightly touched on! takes place just before gloria faces raihan.

** BALLONLEA GYM. HELP WANTED. **

Our main female lead has fallen ill lately. Please apply as a stand-in actor for Ms. Opal immediately for the survival of our annual production!

********

Such was the message that began the travesty of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in the Ballonlea gym. What was initially a play of romance, tragedy and all the more had become a mess of forgotten lines and lowered expectations.

“Arceus above!” Bede groaned, muscles tensing as he oh so desperately attempted to lower Gloria into the makeshift bed composed of pillows and chairs taped together. “You _know_ I cannot handle your full body weight. The very least you could do is try to support me, Gloria.”

“Huh? I’m meant to be _asleep_ ,” Gloria ragdolled about, hands loosely hanging by her sides as she felt Bede dig his fingers deeper than a surgeon into her ribcage. Whilst certainly unintentional, the two of them had accumulated quite the impressive array of bruises from failed rehearsals. “You ever seen a girl get up and move about while being dead tired?”

Actors be damned, Bede was not one to falter in the eyes of a challenge. Yes, theatrics were not his forte – to the extent that Hop had granted him the titular nickname of _‘League Assigned Theatre Kid’_ behind closed doors. Opal was a meticulous woman, difficult to please and a stickler to detail when it came to performing. Bede was her understudy in both battling _and_ acting, evidently better at the first component.

He had begrudgingly posted that advertisement onto Pokejobs, staring blankly at the screen as he had to forcibly will himself to submit enter. No, she had no desire to request a Pokemon, but ‘if you post it there, it’ll get around quicker’. Had the lead been anyone else, perhaps Bede would not have his arms weak from a mere embrace or cheeks grow pinker than the clothes he donned.

Alas, the fairies had ‘spoken’ to Opal. They desired Gloria as their female lead. Amongst the many applicants, numbers well into double-digits, the trainer had caught Opal’s eye. She simply had a ‘knack’ for the role, and no further explanation was offered.

That, or these apparent _‘fairies’_ knew of a crush Bede had long harboured for her in silence. Certainly, Opal could not have picked up on it, right? Even if he looked away from his mentor when questioned, or how he would spend just that extra ten minutes sprucing his appearance up in the mirror prior to meeting with Gloria…

It just so happened the two of them were the only gloves that fit the hand of Ballonlea’s annual production of Sleeping Beauty.

Bede had almost laughed as he dropped her onto the chairs, seeing her face contort in annoyance. Gloria bit her lip, furrowed her brows and assumedly thought of happy memories so to restrain herself from snapping at Bede the moment he relinquished his grasp. Bede knew her well – after all, the two leads had to be on close quarters more often than not.

His newfound free hands hovered just above her for a moments time. Her eyes were shut, arms folded atop of each other as Gloria breathed slowly to imitate slumber. She was tranquil, appearing as if she hadn’t a care in the world despite the fact an impending gym match with Raihan hung above her head, or the fact that she was _moving too slow_ and _Wyndon finals did not wait for everyone_.

All the world is a stage, and Gloria was the star. Yet, for a moments respite, she was just a sleeping princess.

“Um, Bede?” She spoke between thin-lips, trying her best to not break the serene expression she sported. “What’s the next part of the play? We haven’t got all day.”

That much was true. They had redone this exact scene countless times over – with Bede almost dropping her each and every time, or Gloria laughing out of the sheer awkwardness of it all. Sleeping people do not laugh, and Opal was difficult to please.

He hadn’t even thought of flicking through the next part of the play.

“You haven’t even given me a moment to look,” He grumbled. “It would do you well to remember that you were not the _only_ actor casted last-minute.”

“Blah, blah, blah!” Gloria remained as still as a statue, her words hardly matching her demeanour. “Ya know, that breath you just used? Yeah, could’ve been spent reading out your next line.”

Bede rolled his eyes, grabbing ahold of the script that had since been collecting dust bunnies whilst unattended for the past hour. This exact scene had taken them well throughout the morning and a rather impressive chunk into the day.

He could feel his heart in his throat as his eyes grazed over the following line. No, it was not a quote, not a thing to verbalise… but an action instead.

_“Lower Sleeping Beauty to the bed. Wake her with a kiss, proceed to embrace!”._

Below it, a hastily jotted note in neon purple pen.

_“(That means a genuine kiss and hug, mind you!)”_

His fingers gripped the page tighter. Opal had handwritten that note herself, on the script specifically designated to Bede. She _knew_ , didn’t she?

“It reads here that-“ Bede felt his voice die in his throat. His Rotomphone flashed a timer – he had fourty minutes at the most to finalise his rehearsal before Opal wished to see progress. “Urgh. Forget it, we have no time. I will just do as the script demands.”

He took a deep inhale, pushing up her chin as a last-minute measure to subconsciously stall for time. Gloria instinctively pushed her head away, puffing her cheeks in defiance. “B…Bede,” She spoke through even tighter lips. “Bloody hell, what are you doing?”

“Be silent,” He willed himself to lean even closer, noses touching. “I am doing as the script requested. I am to kiss you in order to wake you from your slumber.”

 _“Kiss_ me?!” Gloria was quick to remove herself from the situation, forcing herself to sit upright – only to collide her nose against his in a flurry of hastened escape tactics and typical teenage panic. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

Bede gripped at his nose, cocking his head backwards in fear of copping a blood nose. Whilst no severe damage had been committed, a blow to his pride was searing through his heart. He wasn’t _that_ bad to kiss, was he?

With a pinch to the bridge of his nose and one of those many practiced anger management exercises Opal had _figuratively_ beat into him (breathe in, breathe out, do not scream bloody murder), Bede composed himself. He was not so much angry at Gloria, but at the fact he was failing an endeavour that mattered so very much to Opal. The woman who had given him a means to live, succeed and prosper.

That, and Gloria was going to second-guess his acting abilities, he assumed.

“C’mon now, Bede!” A squeaky laugh escaped her lips as she rubbed at her own nose, eyes bright in the face of pain. “Ya gotta give me a word of warning before you just… pash me, yeah?”

“Pash you?” Bede slowly lowered his head to her level. “What on Earth is a ‘ _pash’_?”

“Snog, smooch, ya know?” Gloria filled her words with extravagant gestures. From pointing to her lips at ‘snog’, to finalizing it all by blowing Bede his very own kiss. “…Besides, I hardly think ya have the guts to do it. You can’t even lay me down properly without dropping me flat on my side.”

And there it was. A mischievous glimmer in her eyes, whilst maintaining an act of innocence. This was most definitely a challenge, had Bede ever heard one before. Having known Gloria for quite some time now, Bede knew her well beyond battle tactics and feats.

He knew her mannerisms. The way she twirled her hair with her finger when nervous, the glint of eagerness in her eye when fronted with a dare, how her voice squeaked whenever she lied…

Bede knew it all. Opal had told him, when one falls in love, even the littlest things became big events. As much as Bede tried to disregard it as an old wives’ tale, it was an unfortunate reality. Bede simply could not stop focusing on her quirks and finding them even more appealing the longer they were separated.

Not that he would ever tell her, of course.

Twenty minutes remained. This was well into the hundredths of takes if Bede were to count.

“Stand up,” Bede took a few short steps backwards, cracking his knuckles. He had that cocky smile again, plastered from cheek to cheek. “This will be our final take. I have no desire to mess about, so I hope you know how to sleep as if your life depended on it.”

With Opal playing judge, jury and executioner as a director, both of their lives may actually be reliant on the success of the show itself.

False courage was better than no courage. Fuelled by a desire to impress and succeed, Bede rubbed at his hand. It was a subconscious tick, one he did whilst nervous. Yet, his wrist was barren of a watch – he had since tucked it away alongside his magenta coat in a desperate attempt to build an identity beyond… _him._

Yes, he was no longer a pawn of Macro Cosmos. He need not to shy away in the spotlight anymore, to relinquish his fame and success to the chairman. What Bede was capable of was by his own doing and hard work, not simply because of his endorsement or a hefty sponsorship from Oleana.

The spotlight was his. This was his moment to prove it.

“This is our last rehearsal before I demonstrate my acting prestige to Ms. Opal,” Amethyst eyes that had once been so very dead sparkled with confidence. “Prepare to be dazzled by my raw talent.”

“Huh, reaaaaaally?” Gloria drawls. “You gonna kiss me this time? Manage to lay my poor body to rest?”

“Of _course_ I will!” He clenched his fists. “I will have the aura of a perfect prince that this play desires. My efforts will not be in vain.”

Bede thinks his heart may just clamber out of his throat at this point, clawing at his chest and beating with both anticipation and determination. He knew well that Opal planned this, that she had organised it down to every individual line and checked it twice.

It took him only moments to scale the space between them, hooking an arm around her waist as he nudged his rival to relax. _Allow your legs to give out, trust me, just for this one show_ – his actions practically screamed it. The boy stood firm, feet apart to allow himself more strength. Whilst his grab at her was somewhat rough, it was self-assured. That was all he could ask for.

What was formerly a cocky smile was quick to transform into a calm one. The role of a prince was best depicted as a calm fellow, one who _‘didn’t sweat the small things’_. One who could ‘pash, smog and kiss’ to rescue the damsel in distress.

Bede’s nostrils flared as he choked down a laugh. Gloria, a damsel in distress? It couldn’t be anything further than the truth. If anything, she was the white knight saving Hop from his own antics or the epitome of what a Galarian Champion _to be_ should embody.

He had since accepted it. Ballonlea was his home and being a gym leader was his dream. To become a champion and allow Rose to live vicariously through him was nothing short of a lie, a vicious one that he had to claw out of his own mindset that had plagued his existence for a solid majority of his life.

Gloria allowed herself to let go, arms resting by her sides. Her face, formerly scrunched up in laughter, was that of a porcelain statue – unchanging, serene…

_Beautiful._

He moved carefully, minding his steps as he went. Bede could not ignore the fact that, beneath sealed lips, he was chewing on his very own tongue as his hands were occupied and could not go for that imaginary wristwatch.

For all his training as a gym leader, deadlifting his friend was certainly not something he was adequately prepared for. Bede felt his knees buckle momentarily, his grip weaken – taking a moment to steady himself. Life was not something to be rushed. Opal drilled that mantra into his mind.

Lowering her into the makeshift bed, he felt a brief sense of relief wash over himself. “There,” He breathed a sigh of reassurance that he was not going to break her trust _or_ her leg. “That is the first action completed. Gloria, are you comfortable?”

“Um… yep!” Gloria shifted against the seats. The pillows were relatively thin, her discomfort mostly induced from the hard surface rather than how Bede had handled her. “Guess ya really did have it in you, huh?”

“Doubting me will be your own undoing,” Bede glanced towards the script sitting idly across from them, neon purple text glaring back at him. “Do you truly think I would shy away from a challenge?”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re a bit of a weird one sometimes!” Gloria knew what was coming. Bede _knew_ that she knew, staring at her as she constantly wiped at her lips or ran her fingers against them. Perhaps she was checking for dead skin, maybe they weren’t soft enough, maybe she was just… _nervous?_

Her reaction from before ran as if it were a movie scene in his mind again. Clutching her nose, wincing in pain, reeling away from the boy as if he were the last man on Earth and _still_ unkissable.

Bede felt unsure. Yet, he couldn’t exactly voice his insecurities.

“But, ya know…” Gloria opened her eyes just a little, turning to face him with a comforting smile. “I’m real glad this scene is with you. It’s kinda like my first kiss, so I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

Bede shook his head. “Silence, please.” He didn’t want to hear it. He had no need to have his ears be spoonfed compliments and encouragement to have that odd beat in his rest return once more. “I am trying to internalise the characteristics of a prince, and you are _breaking_ the ‘zone’ I’ve placed myself into.”

“Is that I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Her eyes shut once more, but this time, not nervously. Her calmness was not a guise, but genuine. “So, um… thanks, Bede. Hope ya feel the same.”

“…Bold of you to assume I haven’t had my first kiss yet,” He frowned. It was true – he hadn’t. The boy had such little interest in the affairs of the heart that he had since submerged so much of his time into ignoring his infatuation for Gloria. “I recommend that you lay quietly and act as if you truly are comatose.”

Bede was not who he was before. Yes, had he been presented this role alongside Gloria as a younger boy prior to Opal stitching together whatever fragmented parts of his personality remained (oh so carefully plucking and picking the sections littered in the fingerprints of Chairman Rose), he would have outright refused to have even breathed near Gloria.

But it was okay to have these feelings. It was okay to act on them, too, or Opal would have never conducted such a masterful scheme.

Gloria fell silent. Bede followed suit.

He walked over, footsteps light and airy. Suddenly, the neon purple text was not as daunting as it once was before. He extended his reach, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Your touch is really gentle!” Gloria smiled. “I never thought you were capable of this sorta thing, Bede!”

“Hush, Gloria.” He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Sleeping people don’t speak full, coherent sentences.”

“This one does!” She snickered, pushing herself a bit more comfortably into his arms.

Securing his grip, he lifted her upwards ever so slightly. His hold was gentle, yet, confident. As if this was not the first proper run through out of a day’s worth of failures. Rubbing his finger against her shoulder in silent reassurement, Bede removed a hand to tilt her chin upwards.

Her breath stopped, eyebrows twitching. Almost comically, she pressed her lips out like a fish would. There was no use in critiquing her, no, not when less than ten minutes remained.

Bede froze.

Memories of battles, arguments and patching up wounds ran through his mind. From exchanging league cards to her soft touch against his shoulder in a desperate attempt to calm him the moment he became unendorsed, Bede had always thought it was him against her. Really, it was the two of them side by side, every step of the way.

“Thank you, Gloria.” Bede shut his eyes. “For being the one decent person in Galar to take up a position I had dreaded working with.”

Well, ‘the one decent person’ was as good of a compliment that Bede could possibly muster.

The kiss was brief. A peck on the lips, soft, one that would not even be felt had she not been expecting it. He was rather proud of himself, frankly. Had he stayed any longer, she would have known just how long the boy had waited for that moment.

He went to step back, to make a snide remark along the lines of _‘are you happy now?’_ , to roll his eyes and act in nonchalance. As if this were a momentous occasion, but Bede himself hardly sweat it. That he did not stay up a night prior, revising every line and daring not to turn to the page in which he _knew_ the demand for a kiss would be staring back at him.

“Oh, come on.” He was broken from his trance by her exclamation, a lone hand proceeding to yank down against his collar. “Y’call that a kiss?”

And then Bede feels it. Her lips against his, a forceful kiss that mashed his teeth against his upper lip in a disaster of unspoken feelings and long-held affections. This was off script, as Bede had no recall regarding the stage direction of _‘give the other a busted lip’_ from Opal.

Bede weakly tugged at her wrist, a half-hearted effort to end the ‘pash’ _(as Gloria had so affectionately put it before)_ , but they both knew that neither of them had the will to stop it. Eventually, Bede relented – hand sliding down her arm as the both of them withdrew by their own accord.

It was a disastrous kiss, but the first kiss was never a pretty one. He stood back, adjusting the collar that had since lost its buttons and had the fabric strained. When he opened his mouth to speak, no words came out.

“Hey, you guys,” A gym member poked her head into the room. “Ms. Opal wants to see what you’ve got so far.”

“Certainly,” Bede looked over at Gloria, who had since dusted herself off and secured her understanding with a nod. Nimble fingers were attempting to undo the mess of tape that had been strewn across aged chairs, undoing knots of spare cloth and such in the process. “Are you prepared?”

“Prepared, eh?” Freeing the chairs of their binding, their collapsed to the ground, Gloria moving quickly to grab ahold of them. One under each arm, prepared to heave them out onto the stage as perhaps some display of strength. “More than ever. But, I wouldn’t of minded a bit more practice on the last scene… not everyone gets t’see ya in such close quarters!”

He was quick to exit the room, feet light and airy – as if the weighted anklets Opal insisted he donned and did laps about Glimwood Tangle in were finally making use of themselves. Her chapstick stained his lips, with Bede having no clue as to why she willingly put the closest thing to _glue_ on herself.

His face met the heat of not Gloria, but the stage lights. Beams pouring with energy blinded him, but not enough to the extent he was impaired from seeing the woman before him. Clad in purple and pink sat his mentor, meticulously adjusting the items across her judging table. Script onhand, freshly brewed tea in the other.

Setting the papers aside, Opal lifted the tea to her lips. Pinkie out, no elbows on the table, all that. Yet, beneath the façade of a regal older woman, Bede saw it.

A cocky smile pressed to the rim of her teacup.

Bede chuckled lightly to himself, coming to a stop at the end of the stage. Fingers instinctively pressing against his lips, he felt the gloss press against his digits.

“Ms. Opal, I am ready to perform now,” He bowed his head. “I hope to impress you with my progress.”

Opal set the teacup aside, folding her hands over one another. She knew that he’d impress her – after all, any _good_ director knew how to organise every detail of a production.

And, rest assured, all had gone exactly to her plan.


End file.
